What upgrades or maintenance up to $1500 should I do?
Car is clean with 21k miles on it black.

wcryan

05-28-12, 07:07 PM

LS7 clutch and all fluid changes

Maybe throw in some axles too

That should be somewhere around 1500. Prolly a little less

OneFast V

05-28-12, 07:11 PM

Motor mounts and diff mount. Then pisnuoff shifter and if you have left overs clutch and axles

rand49er

05-28-12, 08:39 PM

To address the most egregious aspects of a stock '04 CTS-V with 21k miles and with a $1,500 budget will get you a million different answers. Here's mine among the other 999,999.

1) By all means, do all your fluids especially the clutch.

2) IMHO, the shifter needs to be upgraded either by getting yours reworked by PISNUOFF or if you need a brand name shifter call Luke at Lindsay Cadillac and get a UUC.

3) Since you probably have a Gen 2 diff, you can either protect it by getting a set of axles or by getting a Gen 3 or Gen 4 diff. Either way, that could certainly kill any money you have left unless you find a deal on some gForce axles.

4) If you've managed to retain any long green at all at this point, consider a diff bushing or a lightweight flywheel or a tune. These cost varying amounts of money, but they're next on the list I'd create if it was I faced with you're situation.

That's about it, IMHO. Call us when you can come up with some more $. I'm sure we can "help" you with a too-much-money problem.

danrob0123

05-29-12, 01:18 AM

I would just start on improving whatever dissatisfies you about the car. If you feel it's lacking in power do headers and a tune, if you think the shifter sucks (I think youre crazy if you think it's good, but some dont mind it) then do either pisnuoff's or aftermarket. If your diff is clunking replace the bushing with creative steel's bushing and rent their tool as well (this is a cheap mod). If you feel the car needs to handle better order a set of Hotchkis sway bars. Tell us what you want to upgrade on the car and we can point you on the right direction.

danrob0123

05-29-12, 01:26 AM

And as far as maintenance I would flush/change your diff fluid at least, and probably transmission fluid, power steering if it looks burnt, and clutch fluid if it looks gross. Also normal things like check brake pads, tire tread, of course change the oil regularly with a good synthetic.

kciaccio

05-29-12, 09:42 PM

Question about headers....How much of the stock system can you keep when putting headers on? How much more do you have to buy when buying the headers since they don'y look like they will connect to the factory cats.

alradco

05-30-12, 10:08 PM

If you want performance I would do headers and maybe a tune. If it feels fine on power then you can go with more cosmetic mods like wheels, tint, etc. What a great find though, 21k miles!

8. Motor and trans mounts - $varies
Different brands introduce varying amounts of vibration and noise into the body. It depends on how much you are willing to live with and how often you want to replace them in the future. I personally don't like any noise/vibration so I stick with stock motor mounts and replace them every 2-3 years.

9. Headers/exhaust - $varies ($500-$3000)
You should get a tune to take full advantage of this mod.

10. Heads & cam - $varies ($700-$3000) + tune $500

11. Cold air intake - $75 to $500
You can build your own 3.5" aluminum intake tube for about $75 in parts. There are several different aftermarket CAI setups, the most expensive being the Lingenfelter for about $400 and you still should build a tube to replace the restrictive plastic one. Some setups come with a new plastic tube (K&N). You should get a tune to take full advantage of this mod.

Question about headers....How much of the stock system can you keep when putting headers on? How much more do you have to buy when buying the headers since they don'y look like they will connect to the factory cats. You'll have to trim about 10-12" off of the stock system if you're running catted connectors that OBX and Kooks sell. Pacesetters require custom cat configurations.